February 28, 2025
by Elizabeth Pratt
There have been two mid air collisions and 94 aviation incidents so far in 2025. A passenger jet colliding with a helicopter in Washington DC and a Delta plane flipping at Toronto airport are just some of the aviation disasters making headlines.
Experts say the news could be troubling for those with flight anxiety, but there are strategies that can help.
[More]
January 30, 2025
by Elizabeth Pratt
Those living with multiple sclerosis who are pregnant have a greater chance of experiencing mental illness during pregnancy and in the first few years following birth.
Research published in Neurology found that pregnant people with MS had a 26% increased risk of mental illness during pregnancy when compared with pregnant people without MS and a 33% increased risk of mental illness after birth.
[More]
January 28, 2025
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Lancet looked at associations between childhood trauma and childhood psychiatric disorders in Brazil. “This study looks at the impact of childhood trauma exposure on the mental health of adolescents at ages 15 and 18 in a Brazilian birth cohort,” study author Megan Bailey told us. Bailey is an ESRC-Funded PhD Researcher in the Department of Psychology at the University of Bath.
[More]
January 21, 2025
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of Nature aimed to understand the neural code of stress to control anhedonia. “The goal of the study was to understand what drives reduced reward-seeking in individuals who are susceptible to traumatic stress,” study author Mazen A. Kheirbek told us. “We were hoping to identify patterns of activity in the brains of mice that may be related to this process of anhedonia, and patterns that are associated with resiliency to developing anhedonia.”
[More]
January 14, 2025
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry looked at the contribution of childhood lead exposure to psychopathology in the US population over the past 75 years. “We set out to determine the toll that leaded gasoline took on the US population’s mental health over the past century,” Dr. Aaron Reuben told us. “We knew it would be higher than anyone previously understood.”
[More]
January 7, 2025
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association looked at a longitudinal treatment effect analysis of antipsychotics on the behavior of residents in long-term care. “Our study was focused on the use of advanced statistical methods to evaluate the effects of antipsychotic use among nursing home residents who do not have existing conditions associated with psychosis,” study author, Dr. John Hirdes told us. Dr. Hirdes is a professor in the School of Public Health Sciences. “These drugs are often use ‘off label’ to manage behaviours in persons with dementia. We wanted to determine whether these drugs would be effective in managing behaviour problems in long-term care.”
[More]
December 31, 2024
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine assessed the psychobiological demands of high-fidelity training in pre-hospital emergency medicine. “Individuals who provide emergency medical services mount physiological responses including activation of the nervous and endocrine systems,” study author Mark Wetherell told us. “These responses are highly adaptive and provide the energy resources to deal with the situation, however, frequent and sustained responding, with little opportunity for recovery, causes wear and tear on the body and this can lead to increased risk of stress-related illness.”
[More]
December 24, 2024
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology looked at the frequency of self-reported persistent post-treatment genital hypoesthesia among past antidepressant users in Canada and the US. “In my counselling practice, I specialize in working with people with Post Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD), which is a type of sexual dysfunction where sexual function does not return to normal upon discontinuation of commonly prescribed antidepressants such as SSRIs, Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs), and some tricyclic antidepressants,” study author Yassie Pirani told us.he
[More]
December 10, 2024
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the American Journal of Medicine looked at increasing trends in alcohol related mortality in the United States. “We sought to explore whether there have been increases in U.S. alcohol related mortality,” study author Alexandra Matarazzo told us. “We were hoping to find out whether there were increases and, if so, whether they are occurring at younger ages.”
[More]
December 3, 2024
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in PubMed looked at how cocoa flavanols rescue stress-induced declines in endothelial function after a high-fat meal, but do not affect cerebral oxygenation during stress in young, healthy adults. “We know that when people are stressed, they tend to gravitate towards high-fat foods,” study author Dr. Catarina Rendeiro told us. “We have previously shown that fatty food can impair the body’s vascular recovery from stress. In this study, we wanted to see if adding a high-flavanol food to the fatty meal would alleviate the negative impact of stress in the body."
[More]